


Leave the City

by miss_message_man (TideNightWalker)



Series: Cheat a Bandito (and some others) [3]
Category: Twenty One Pilots
Genre: Alternative Universe- Trench Music Videos, Folklore, Iceland, M/M, Mild Blood, Minor Josh Dun/Tyler Joseph, Original Character Death(s), Trench Era
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-09-14
Updated: 2018-09-14
Packaged: 2019-07-12 09:20:39
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,258
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15992288
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TideNightWalker/pseuds/miss_message_man
Summary: After the Levitate video, Tyler finds himself dying(?) in the outskirts of Trench, where a quirky person lives.“He had never met someone with the name Clancy since the founder of the Banditos died and had certainly never met someone with two names. He didn’t even know if that was their nickname. He was used to the Banditos giving everyone nicknames, and was still referred to as “Blurry” by all the other Banditos (sometimes including or excluding Josh).”





	Leave the City

**Author's Note:**

> Spoilers (?) for the Levitate MV. Titler from the (currently unreleased) song of the same name by twenty one pilots.
> 
> (Also Trench releases soon and holy shit I'm excited!!!)
> 
> (This is also the longest one-shot I have ever written, geez!)

**** Tyler groaned as he woke up in dirt. The ground was mossy and uneven beneath his back, and multiple rock edges dug into his back as he looked around. He seemed to be near a shack, and he was surrounded by miles of bushes and trees and the moss he was sitting in.

  
  
Tyler sat up slowly, his neck aching and his back tangled in tense knots. He looked back toward the shack, where a figure was looking through the window blinds. The person appeared worried, their brow furrowed.  The blinds over the window snapped closed and Tyler sighed. He had no doubts that he was very far from the Banditos, and no one in Trench would touch a Bandito. Even if they could be dying.

  
  
Was he dying? Tyler couldn't particularly tell. He knew his throat was bruised if he was lucky (destroyed if he wasn't), and his back felt like it had been twisted into tangles that could rival the ones that appeared in the long-haired Banditos (including Josh before he started joining Tyler in the ritual head shaving). 

  
  
Suddenly, a voice called out. "Hello?"

  
  
It was the person from the shack window. They came closer, very slowly. They looked nervous, but they moved across the rocky terrain with the experience of one of the older Banditos. T yler attempted to speak, but could only croak out some strangled groans. He supposed that was what happened after you got dragged through Trench by the hood of your sweatshirt.

  
  
"C'mon," The person continued, sticking their hands out, "Let's get you some food and water. You look like you need it."

  
  
Tyler smiled gratefully, and took the stranger's hands, using them to lift himself up. When he first got up, he stumbled a bit, but eventually got his footing on the slightly shifting moss-covered rocks.  The person grinned and began to lead him to their shack. 

  
  
"I'm Clancy Greystoke, by the way," The person said.

  
  
Tyler hummed and nodded at them in acknowledgment. He had never met someone with the name Clancy since the founder of the Banditos died and had certainly never met someone with two names. He didn’t even know if that was their nickname. He was used to the Banditos giving everyone nicknames and was still referred to as “Blurry” by all the other Banditos (sometimes including or excluding Josh).

  
Clancy stopped at the door of the shack and pulled it open with their free hand. They helped Tyler walk inside and sit down on the couch. 

  
  
"Hang on," Clancy said tiredly. "I'll get you some water."

  
  
Clancy disappeared through a door, leaving Tyler to his own devices.

  
  
He looked around. A cork board was mounted on the wall across from the couch, littered with pinned up pictures and papers that looked like they had been torn from a book.  Many of the pictures showed what looked like the landscape to Trench. A paper with the phrase "Banditos?" was pinned up and connected to a picture with people in bandannas.

  
  
Tyler was startled out of his head by the door banging open.

  
  
Clancy cringed at the loud noise as they entered the room with a cup.

  
  
"Sorry 'bout that," They muttered, handing the cup to Tyler. "Here's some water."

  
  
Tyler took the cup gratefully and sipped at the water as Clancy grew quiet.

  
  
"Uh... Could I ask you something?"

  
  
Tyler shrugged.

  
  
"What happened to you?"

  
  
Tyler frowned and pointed to his throat.

  
  
Clancy cocked their head. "Your throat...?"

  
  
Tyler dragged his finger across his throat and shook his head.

  
  
"You can't... Talk?"

  
  
Tyler nodded.

  
  
"Oh," Clancy said, looking to the side. "Can you write?"

  
  
Tyler nodded. Clancy grinned. 

  
  
"Hang on," They said, disappearing through a different door. They re-emerged a few moments later, paper and pencil in hand. "Here."

  
  
Tyler awkwardly set his cup on the ground and took the pencil and paper. He scratched out a quick message.

  
  
_ 'I'm Tyler,' _ It read.  _ 'What happened to me is a long story.' _   


  
Clancy grinned. "I've got time."

  
  
Tyler huffed through his nose is a resemblance of a snort. He smiled back at Clancy and began to write.

  
  
_ 'I'm from a place called Dema. There, we are ruled by nine Bishops. They control everything. Some of the people escape and make it away. They're called the Banditos. I'm one of them. I had just gotten out for the-' _   


  
Tyler paused in his writing. 

  
  
"You done?" Clancy asked, not impatient, but still excited.

  
  
Tyler shook his head. May as well tell the truth.

  
  
He continued to write.

  
  
_ '-fifth time. I kept getting re-found by the Bishops. They would take me back, but I would escape again. This time, they got annoyed and fed up. They dragged me by my hood and left me near your shack to die.' _   


  
Tyler exhaled shakily and turned the paper to Clancy.

  
  
They blinked in surprise, and read very quickly. "My great-grandfather used to talk about Dema. He would go on and on about these Banditos and Bishops, but I never believed him."

  
  
Tyler made sounds that he hoped sounded protesting as he moved towards Clancy.

  
  
Clancy smiled at Tyler. "I believe you."

  
  
Tyler sighed and slouched back into the couch.

  
  
"Can I tell you a story?" Clancy asked.

  
  
Tyler cocked his head and nodded.

  
  
Clancy grinned, and Tyler felt a pang in his heart as he was reminded of Josh. They had that same kind of smile; Tyler thought they contained the sun behind their teeth. They smiled so much it seemed they had to release the heat of the sun through their teeth or else it would burn them.

  
  
"A very long time ago," Clancy began, "When the King of Norway began to take over a small island in the middle of the Pacific- wait, shit, it’s the Atlantic, sorry- Ocean, there lived nine major villages on that island. The natives called it 'ĺsland,' which meant 'Iceland' in their tongue. The people of these villages were what the King considered 'Pagans,' believers in a ritualistic faith other than that of the people of Norway. In one of the villages, not far from this forest, there lived nine brothers. Their parents were long gone, and they took care of themselves; developed their own beliefs. They already believed that the practices of the village were oppressive, and had their own way and had their own ideas. When the people of Norway came, they pushed their own beliefs on the people of ĺsland, and many of them accepted it. This village readily accepted these beliefs and began to push out anyone who didn’t. The village immediately labeled these brothers heretics and exiled them. To mark them as non-believers, they burned their hands and covered them in tar before banishing them. A local priest prayed to God for help in keeping these brothers away from the villages. So, the brothers were barred from entering any village on the island, and were forced to stay in the forests."

  
  
Tyler had no idea what a "Norway" was, but Clancy told their story in a way that reminded him of his younger days in the Banditos, watching Josh share stories of escape and rescue, all while flailing his arms in grand gestures.

  
  
"However, the brothers had a trick of their own. As revenge for keeping them out of the villages, the brothers cast a curse on the island, forcing nine people from the existing nine major villages to enter their forest in a trance and never leave again. According to my great-grandfather, these people were forced to live under the beliefs of these brothers, called 'Bishops' by their subjects." Clancy finished their story with a pleased grin, looking at Tyler somewhat expectantly. 

  
  
Tyler quickly scribbled out on his paper.  _ 'Is that actually what happened?' _

  
  
Clancy shrugged. "My great-grandfather sure believed so," they gestured behind them. "I've been trying to decipher what all his letters mean." Clancy paused and grinned slowly. "Could you help me? You know more about Dema than I do."

  
  
Tyler raised an eyebrow. 'I dunno if I could help all that much, but sure.'

  
  
Clancy squealed and ran through a doorway, reemerging with a box. "These are all his letters. Maybe you could read over them? I've read them until my brain hurts and I still can't understand, that's how cryptic they are."

  
  
Tyler smiled and took the box with a nod.

  
  
Clancy sighed in relief. "Thank you. I'm going to go make some food, I bet you're starving, and I am too." Clancy disappeared into a door that Tyler assumed was their kitchen and he was left to his own devices. After a few minutes of reading through the letters and feeling a strange sense of Deja Vu, Clancy burst through the door, looking scared.

  
  
"There's someone coming from the woods," they said quietly. "They don't look happy."

  
  
After they finished, a firm knock resonated throughout the small cabin. Clancy gulped.

  
  
"Hello?" Asked a voice beyond the door. "I'm just looking for my b- friend."

  
  
The person knocked again as Tyler frantically wrote on his pad.  _ 'It's my friend, Josh. Let him in? Trustworthy.' _ _  
_

  
Clancy quickly read his note, sighed, nodded, and made their way to the door. "C'mon in, Prince Charming."

  
  
And there was Josh. Dressed in his camo pants and his green sweatshirt, he looked like home. Tyler breathed a sigh of relief. Josh looked puzzled for a second before he spotted Tyler. "Blurry," he gasped, moving forward with his sunshine smile.

  
  
Tyler smiled back as Josh wrapped him up in his arms.

  
  
He pushed Tyler back, only to run his hands over Tyler’s face and shoulders. "What happened to you? Are you okay?"

  
  
Tyler opened his mouth to respond, but Clancy did.

  
  
"He can't talk. I'm pretty sure his esophagus is damaged," Clancy piped up from the door. "I'm Clancy, by the way."

Josh nodded at Clancy. “Thank you.”

Clancy shrugged.

Tyler quickly grabbed his paper and pencil and scribbled a note out to Josh and Clancy.

_ ‘Clancy’s great-grandfather was part of the Banditos… we think. I think I know who he was.’ _

“You could understand his letters?” Clancy asked incredulously. “But-” They sighed.

Josh tilted his head. “They’re what?”   
  
“Cryptic as hell. They’re poetic to the point of being incomprehensible,” Clancy grumbled.

“That’s Blurry,” Josh snickered.

Tyler rolled his eyes and smacked Josh with his pad, and then scribbled something down for both of them. Clancy was about to say something when Tyler shoved his paper in their face.

_ ‘His letters look just like the ones Trick keeps in his box.’  _ Tyler wrote.  _ ‘Jish, Clancy’s great-grandfather is The Clancy.’ _

Josh looked up from the paper with wide eyes. “You think so?”

“Who’s ‘The Clancy’?” Clancy asked. 

“The founder of the Banditos,” Josh replied. “He’s one of the first people to escape Dema.”

Clancy paused. “What. The actual. Hell.”

Tyler grinned at them.  _ ‘Your g-grandpa was just telling you about the Banditos in a way the Bishops couldn’t understand.’ _

“Trick, our current leader,” Josh continued, “Has copies of them kept in a box.”

Clancy nodded, then sunshine-smiled. “I wanna come.”

“What?”  _ ‘WHAT’ _

“I wanna meet them!” Clancy defended. “The Banditos! My great-grandfather clearly thought they were awesome, so I might as well meet them!”

****  
  


* * *

 

 

“CLANCY!” Tyler yelled, his voice going hoarse at the end of the word.

“Ty…” Clancy said softly, their breath shaky as they bled from a cut on their throat.

Tyler watched as Nico faded back into the shadows, mollified with Clancy’s sacrifice. He ran to them, his hands flying around, unsure of what to do.

“Help!” He attempted to scream, but his voice wouldn’t work. All that came out was a hoarse whisper.

He leaned over Clancy, feeling tears burn at the corner of his eyes. He heard someone yell. 

“Josh,” He whispered to Clancy. “Josh’ll be here soon, he’ll help you. Clance, just hold on.”

Clancy sunshine-smiled. “It’s okay,” They whispered, their breath faltering. “I got to see what my great-grandfather left behind. I talked to Josh. Ask him about our plan. He’ll tell you.”

“You always had the best ideas,” Tyler said, attempt to smile.

Clancy took one last breath in, exhaled, and lolled their head to the side.

Tyler’s eyes burned with tears as they fell, in tandem with the rain and running footsteps slowly getting closer.

“Blurry?” A voice yelled.  _ Josh,  _ Tyler thought. “Tyler! Clancy! Where are you- Tyler!”

Tyler felt the ground near him shift as Josh got closer. “Oh god,” Josh murmured. “C’mon, Ty, we gotta go.”

Tyler shook his head. “No,” He whispered.

“Did your voice give out again?” Josh asked. “C’mon, Tyler, you’re gonna get sick out in the rain.”

“Whatever.”

“Fine.”

Josh slid his arms underneath Tyler’s armpits and pulled the struggling man away from his friend.

“You can’t save everyone, Tyler,” Josh whispered in his ear. “They know that. ‘We’ll win, but not everyone will get out’, remember?”

Tyler went slack as tears rolled down his face. “I’m sorry, Clancy.”

The two walked back in silence.

“Clancy said you two had come up with a plan,” Tyler asked. “They didn’t say what.”

Josh grinned, a sunshine-smile that made Tyler feel a little better, and said-

“We’re getting out of here, Ty. The Banditos, Dema prisoners, us, everyone.”

“We’ll win, but not everyone will get out,” Tyler muttered.

“Clancy knew the risks of coming here,” Josh replied. “We told them. They knew. They wanted us to leave after they realized what their grandfather’s letters meant.”

Tyler nodded.

And with that, the plan was in place.

They were leaving.


End file.
